Live boxing returns to Madison Civic Center

MADISON — Live professional boxing returns to the Madison Civic Center on Saturday, March 9th.

The 7th installment of the King of the Coal Fields Boxing series presented by Black Eye Promotions will be headlined by a state title fight between Logan’s Jason “Coalfield Cobra” Smith vs. Morgantown’s Eric Watkins for the WV light heavy weight championship.

This belt has been vacant since 1987 and was last held ironically by now WV Athletic Commissioner Steve Allred, a Boone County native.

Many people feel this will be the fight of the year in WV as it features 2 of the top pound for pound fighters in the state.

The event will feature 10 professional bouts and a hand full of amateur contests. Nearly all of the fighters are from the southern WV area.

Featured local fighters such as Greg Maynard, Warren Browning, Zack Kuhn, Austin Marcum, Jon Hill, Josh Stepp, Matt Garretson, and Don Pennington assure the event will be a packed house. With a great line up of fighters on both sides of the card this looks to be a very competitive and exciting event.

Anticipation has spread through the boxing community of the state as many out of the area fans have already purchased tickets and look to flood the coal fields on March 9th.

This type of event is rare in West Virginia, and especially in southern West Virginia. Most pro boxing events in the state feature 1-4 pro fights with a large number of amateur bouts.

This is likely the only event in West Virginia this year that will feature double digits of pro bouts.

There is no one more excited about the event being held in Boone County than the promoter of the show who also resides in Boone County.

“The team at Black Eye has been working on this show for more than a year. I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of the creation of this event,” Allred said. “This is the best event we have ever put together and its not even close. Im excited as a fan of the sport.”

“Boxing has been revitalized lately in our state over the past couple years and especially in the coalfields where pro boxing had been non-existent,” he added. “The KOTCF series has already visited Logan, Madison, Charleston, and Williamson and will invade Bluefield in April.”

This event is sponsored by Hill Chiropractic, Cook and Cook Law Firm, Boone Memorial Hospital, and Quality Metal Roofing.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance by calling 304-785-9124.